I have always appreciated the responsibility and opportunity to be a part of developing leaders. Not only do I get the opportunity to raise my boys to be leaders, but I’ve had the opportunity to have leadership responsibility for many, many people in my seemingly short lifetime. When thinking about leadership, I’ve always pondered this difficultly-simple question: “Are Leaders Born or Made?”

I know that God has uniquely wired each of us with specific DNA and for some people that includes the spiritual gift of leadership. With this in mind, I still find myself instilling things into my sons that will prepare them to be that next generation of leaders and world changers of the future. At the same time, I will reflect on my life and be reminded of those God moments that sculpted me into who I am today.

If we take a look at the lives of Jesus’ 12 disciples and ask the question: “Were they born leaders?” I would say, probably not! A better question is: “Were they born for leadership?” Absolutely, but not without being molded and shaped into the instruments that Jesus had in mind.

There is a lot of empirical research that supports several answers to this question; those answers conclude that leaders are: Born, Made and Both. I don’t know if it’s that obvious; but I do know that I like molding and shaping, in addition to being molded and shaped.

I read a quote in an article that stated: “Some people are born to move and shake the world. Their blessings include: high energy, exceptional intelligence, self confidence and a yearning to influence others.”

When it comes to success, people consistently find themselves pondering these questions: Will I succeed? How will I succeed? and When will I succeed?

Instead of focussing on those questions, get right to the answers. Yes you will succeed, if you truly believe that you will succeed and as long as you don’t give up success will happen. Change your mindset, believe, have faith, work hard and know that failure is part of the success journey.

The Top 5 Reasons You Will Succeed

1.) You set goals

2.) You believe you will succeed

3.) You work hard

4.) You embrace failure

5.) You never give up

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” ~Michael Jordan

Pastor @StevenFurtick shares the comforting truth that, no matter where life has taken us or where we have taken ourselves, we still have reason to hope – because one decision can redirect our hearts toward God and drop us right in the center of His will.

As a consultant one of my key roles and responsibilities is the art of listening. Yes I have to provide great strategies, thoughts and coaching along the way; however I can’t be effective and any of those if I don’t learn to listen. The greatest compliments that clients give me is when they say that my team and I do a great job of listening and assessing. Bingo: Listen – Assess – Strategize – Coach.

As a consultant, leader, parent, spouse, coach, friend, co-worker… if you want to be effective, stop talking and Learn To Listen. Learn to listen and Listen to learn

You must learn to listen in order to get the heart, essence and meaning behind what others are saying and not just listening so that you can respond.

“Who speaks, sows; Who listens reaps.” ~Argentine Proverb

Contrary to popular belief, the more you talk, the less people listen.

There is no way around it. We can make excuses, look at various scenarios, evaluate factors, point fingers and make countless excuses along the way. You are the reason that you fail. It’s your thoughts, your beliefs, your decisions and your actions.

Don’t beat yourself up about the fact that you are the reason that you fail. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Here is the light: You Are The Reason You Succeed. Of course you need God’s blessing, help from others, mentorship and opportunities to present themselves. More importantly, you need to understand and tap into the same things that cause you to fail in order to have real success. It’s your thoughts, your beliefs, your decisions and your actions that will lead to your success.

Just imagine if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had Twitter or other social networking applications at his disposal, his message would have been even more world changing. He was known as one of the best orators of his day and one of the top in the history of the country. The exponential impact of his sound bites and oratory skills would have been extremely powerful with a tool like Twitter.

I believe we take for granted the fact that our message, story, voice and thoughts can literally be globally shared at our leisure and by the push of a button. This year in the United States we set aside Monday, January 16th. to honor the life of a civil rights leader, pastor and social justice martyr. MLK positively impacted the US and the world in so many ways, I think it’s great the US has an official holiday in his honor.

Last year, my wife and I were in Atlanta during the MLK Holiday. We visited the Atlanta Memorial and the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church that Dr. King pastored. This summer we took our sons and visited the MLK Memorial at the National Mall in Washington DC and stood at the very place he delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

This year I’m sharing 44 of Dr. King’s memorable quotes that could have easily been tweets. 44 in remembrance of 44 years ago he sacrificed his life so that we could dream. Not only are they tweetable (at 140 characters or less), they are all short enough to be retweetable (122 characters or less). Quotes can have such power, as a matter of fact I used a number of Dr. King’s quotes to illustrate some power points in my book.

44 Retweetable #MLK Quotes

1. Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or darkness of destructive selfishness. #MLK

2. A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. #MLK

3. To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. #MLK

4. Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. #MLK

5. I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. #MLK

6. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. #MLK

7. The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict. #MLK

8. We are not makers of history. We are made by history. #MLK

9. We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. #MLK

10. We must face the sad fact that Sunday morning when we stand 2 sing, we stand in the most segregated hour in America. #MLK

11. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. #MLK

12. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. #MLK

13. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” #MLK

14. The measure of a man isn’t whr he stands in moments of comfort, but whr he stands @ times of challenge & controversy. #MLK

15. If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live. #MLK

16. Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. #MLK

17. We must use time creatively — and forever realize that the time is always hope to do great things. #MLK

18. The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. #MLK

19. The time is always right to do what is right. #MLK

20. I have a dream my 4 little children will 1 day liv in a nation whr they will not B judged by the color of their skin. #MLK

21. Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see. #MLK

22. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. #MLK

23. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. #MLK

24. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. #MLK

25. When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. #MLK

26. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. #MLK

42. We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. #MLK

43. Seeing is not always believing. #MLK

44. I Have A Dream! #MLK

There are so many more tremendous quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. These are just 44 retweetable quotes that have stood out to me over the years. Please share your favorites from the above list or any other #MLK quotes that you like. If you can share them in 120 characters or less, please do so. This will allow them to be retweetable.

Happy #MLK Holiday! Please take a few moments on #MLK Holiday to share some quotes, watch a speech, serve in the community, attend the parade, talk to your family about his impact over dinner, communicate to your team that you value the holiday and what Dr. King stood for… Do something!

This evening I had a friend of mine send me a text and ask me: What are 5 things leaders should do daily? I thought it was a great question so I answered very quickly in text like fashion. See my response in the text exchange below.